Inside Jon Jones' killer workouts

At 22, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones may be talked about as the Next Big Thing in the UFC, but the phenom’s eye-popping abilities aren’t an accident. The 6-foot-3, light heavyweight phenom and former All-American Greco-Roman wrestler has a training regimen as unorthodox as the kicks and strikes for which he’s known. Each exercise is designed to push his muscles to the limit while training them to respond explosively.

By Myatt Murphy

At 22, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones may be talked about as the Next Big Thing in the UFC, but the phenom’s eye-popping abilities aren’t an accident. The 6-foot-3, light heavyweight phenom and former All-American Greco-Roman wrestler has a training regimen as unorthodox as the kicks and strikes for which he’s known. Each exercise is designed to push his muscles to the limit while training them to respond explosively.

Two months prior to any fight -- such as March 21st's headliner bout against Brandon Vera -- Jonesstarts doing strength training and cardio three days a week. “We went by feel and used a lot of explosive exercises to train his muscle fibers to fire faster,” says Kelly Tekin, Jones’ strength and conditioning coach, “We also relied on a lot of heavy compound exercises to keep muscle on his frame.”

Here’s one example of a typical training day for Jones. To see any of these exercises in action, you can go to www.conditionedbykellytekin.com. For a pared-down version of this workout that you can actually do, click here.

Jones’ stamina is pushed with high-tech training equipment that challenges his muscles in ways usually reserved for fights. For example, Tekin would place a tackling dummy on top of a non-motorized treadmill (called the Tread Sled), then strap Jones into a vest with resistance cords attached to it. “I would push the dummy as hard as possible, as if I was doing a takedown, for 5-10 seconds,” says Jones. “Because I was being pulled backward by the cords, it’s a strenuous exercise that really builds up your explosive strength.”

Another unique tool Tekin used was the VertiMax—a platform with bungee cords attached to it that strap onto Jones’ hands, waist, knees and ankles. Tekin has him strap in, then do knee strikes, kicks and punches for 30-60 seconds at a time, switching stances (from traditional to southpaw) in between rounds. “The extra resistance made it difficult just to keep my hands up, let alone throw a punch,” says Jones, “After being tied into that thing, once I went to knee a guy without being strapped into the machine, it made my strikes that much more powerful in the Octagon.”